BMW F80 M3 v Model 3 Performance--From Someone that Owns Both

[67King]

You might be able to do this. My wife cannot, because her wallet isn't small enough to do what you're suggesting. I suppose she could buy a different wallet? But then she'd have to alter some other part of her lifestyle to accommodate the car.

Her point is that she literally never has never had to think about the key fob in our other cars. With the Tesla, her phone sometimes doesn't work, and the result is a frantic dig through her bag to find the key card and pull it out of her wallet.

Her other point, which I take, is that there are things about the Tesla that really seem designed by tech guys, for tech guys, without any consideration of how other people might (or might not) like them. A phone key with a wallet based backup is fine if your paradigm is "my wallet is always in my pocket and is easy to take out and slap against the car." If your paradigm is "my wallet is zippered up inside my handbag," it makes less sense. Similarly, controls for the side mirrors buried in submenus on the main touch screen make sense if you set the mirrors once and then don't touch them. If you wear heels sometimes and flats other times, and adjust the seat slightly accordingly, it's a bigger pain in the ass. Could you set different profiles for each preferred setting? I guess. Is that easier than just having a mirror switch? No.

Forgive my skepticism, but:
1. Put the keycard towards teh outside of the wallet.
2. She would have to "frantically dig" through her wallet for a key fob. Which of course does NOT fit in a wallet, therefore is an added "thing" to add to her purse she would otherwise not have.
3. Your wife should learn proper foot placement if the heels determine where her mirrors go. You drive with the balls of your feet. And the seat position affects arm position to the steering wheel, too. I've worn boots, and driven without shoes, never adjusted. Been with the same lady, either dating, engaged, or marrried, for nearly 30 years. And she has more &^%*ing shoes than Corizon Aquino, and she has never had to adjust the seat or mirror or anything due to her shoes. And even if she DOES have to adjust, there can't possibly be an infinite number of positions, so just set up an extra driver profile.

 

[KenC]

I drove a 2001 330xi w/sport pkg for over 230,000 miles, and the only thing I really miss are the sport seats. They fit me perfectly.

 

[MTSN]

I drove a 2001 330xi w/sport pkg for over 230,000 miles, and the only thing I really miss are the sport seats. They fit me perfectly.

Agreed 100%. I'm a very fit/athletic person albeit with a history of low back and knee pain, and I cannot find a comfortable driving position to save my life in the Model 3. I literally spent 2.5 days driving 2,100 miles in a Sprinter van with no pain, no soreness, no issues, yet anything more than 30 minutes in the Tesla and I have significant pain. If longer than an hour, I would call it near excruciating. I miss a proper German or Swedish seat, but I think for me it's more the relationship between the seat and the floor and lack of distance rather than the seat itself in the Tesla. Although I do find the seats to be absurdly soft and overly lumbar boosted which is weird, and I've considered taking it to an upholstery shop to see if they can help me out. Even with the significant discomfort, I still absolutely love the car which means I'm either crazy or the car is just that good!

 

[eustachio]

Great write up. I've been in a few ICE cars since getting the 3, including luxury marques like Lexus, Benz and Audi. I feel like I'm stepping back in time.
On road noise I find the 3 quieter than previous cars. I think the lack of any engine noise or vibration makes you more aware of road or wind noise, but it feels much quieter and somehow calmer than any ICE vehicle.

 

[joebruin77]

I enjoyed your post. It made me reminisce about my past cars and how they compare to my P3D. My Lexus 350 bored my to tears. 2 months into ownership I started fantasizing about my next car. My BMW 325 and Audi A4 were super fun to drive, especially since the BMW had a manual transmission, but both cars broke down on me and had to be towed to the dealership. Tesla gets so much attention for reliability issues, but we forget that many ICE cars have poor track records. My two fine German automobiles also happened to be the two most unreliable cars I have ever owned. I loved my Chevy Volt, as it helped prepare me for Tesla driving. My last car before the Tesla was a Subaru WRX. Interestingly, out of all of past cars, I miss my Subie the most. If I had to go back to an ICE, I would choose the WRX in a heartbeat. But nothing, not even the Subie, matches the pure joy of driving the Tesla. Best of all, I have no idea what current gas prices are since I haven't been to a gas station in nearly a year. The BMW, Audi, and Subaru all took premium and I definitely do not miss paying for premium gas each week.

 

[JST]

Forgive my skepticism, but:
1. Put the keycard towards teh outside of the wallet.
2. She would have to "frantically dig" through her wallet for a key fob. Which of course does NOT fit in a wallet, therefore is an added "thing" to add to her purse she would otherwise not have.
3. Your wife should learn proper foot placement if the heels determine where her mirrors go. You drive with the balls of your feet. And the seat position affects arm position to the steering wheel, too. I've worn boots, and driven without shoes, never adjusted. Been with the same lady, either dating, engaged, or marrried, for nearly 30 years. And she has more &^%*ing shoes than Corizon Aquino, and she has never had to adjust the seat or mirror or anything due to her shoes. And even if she DOES have to adjust, there can't possibly be an infinite number of positions, so just set up an extra driver profile.

I'm maybe not being clear about this--the key fobs on our other cars do not fail. They don't have to be held up to anything. They just work. So, I'm not comparing a key card to a key fob in terms of ease of access in your purse; I'm saying that if Tesla had just used a key fob (like they did with the Model S! which we had two of! and which never gave us a problem!), there wouldn't be this issue at all.

As for your third point, I won't show it to her, because she would find it even more exhausting to be lectured on this than I do on her behalf, and would roll her eyes and ask why she can't just have a sodding mirror switch, and I would have no more answer for that than I already do, which is none.

 

[30seconds]

Just buy the Tesla key fob

 

[JST]

Just buy the Tesla key fob

Ha ha I did. I have two of them. They sometimes don't work, either.

 

[joebruin77]

Ha ha I did. I have two of them. They sometimes don't work, either.

I use this silicon holder for my keycard and definitely recommend it . Much better than the hard plastic ones that break way too easily:

https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Sparta...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

 

[radami1]

The key card is suboptimal because when the car asks for it, you have to dig it out of your wallet (or wallet and purse, if you carry one), tap it against the door, and then tap it again against the center console. It's harder to use in that sense than even a traditional metal key, because it requires the extra step of getting it out of your wallet.

I don't have to dig it out of my wallet. Just tap my wallet with the key card enclosed on the B pillar and it lets me in. Set it down in front of the cup holders, tap the brake, put in my pin and I'm off.

 

[FB49]

The key card is suboptimal because when the car asks for it, you have to dig it out of your wallet (or wallet and purse, if you carry one), tap it against the door, and then tap it again against the center console. It's harder to use in that sense than even a traditional metal key, because it requires the extra step of getting it out of your wallet. And when you're trying to wrangle kids and packages into the car, it's just a pain.

For me, the phone works essentially flawlessly. For my wife? It's like 50/50. It got annoying enough that I actually bought two of the optional key fobs, but *they* don't even work all the time.

It's a frustration that seems entirely unnecessary, given that every other car (including the Model S) works flawlessly with a fob.

My wife is hardly ever more than 3 feet from her phone, but I'm still adjusting to needing to carry my cell phone with me everywhere I go. Old school, I guess. But I've found that I don't need to even take my (2019 Model 3) card out of my wallet to unlock the car. If I don't have my cell phone with me, I just take out my wallet and press it to the door pillar. Unlocks the car every time.

 

[JST]

I use this silicon holder for my keycard and definitely recommend it . Much better than the hard plastic ones that break way too easily:

View attachment 451317


https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Sparta...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

Thanks, that looks useful!

 

[Bartman1]

If you don't like using the phone Ap. You could try the optional Model 3 Key Fob. I know they are often out of stock from the website, but if you can get one they work great.

 

[Positvt]

Similarly, controls for the side mirrors buried in submenus on the main touch screen make sense if you set the mirrors once and then don't touch them. If you wear heels sometimes and flats other times, and adjust the seat slightly accordingly, it's a bigger pain in the ass. Could you set different profiles for each preferred setting? I guess. Is that easier than just having a mirror switch? No.

To me, different driver profiles for each setting are much easier than have to fine-tune each of the side mirrors with multiple button presses (up, down, left, right) for the left side mirror, then for the right. With the driver profiles, you just set them up all at once (e.g. Wife with heels, Wife with flats) and click just once to select the right driver profile setting. Just a thought.
Oh, also, if I recall correctly from the test drives I had with the Model 3 (I have an S), it's just 2 clicks to get to the screen where you adjust the mirrors for the driver profiles.

 

[BarryK]

I responded, "It didn't. It just allowed me to drive how I've always wanted to drive, but didn't have a car that could match until I got my 3."

Great line! I completely agree....

Side Note: I'm really surprised how much bigger the 3 looks in the above picture compared to the M3.

Same here - surprised that the 3 looks so much larger...

 

[raptor5244]

Nice write-up. I traded a C7 Grand Sport Corvette with 7 speed manual. Loved the car but the Tesla M3P+ makes it feel like a dinosaur. These cars are a quantum leap over traditional ICE based vehicles, we just need the rest of the world to figure this out so the market can transition quicker.

 

[BarryK]

Same here - surprised that the 3 looks so much larger...

Whoops! Please disregard my previous post - not sure how / why this ended up posting to this thread... ???

 

[MtnTom]

Why can’t this car just have a normal key?

I had the model 3 since June/2018, and I have an iPhone. Since the M3 only needs Bluetooth to unlock (unlike the S & X which need the App), the only times the phone didn't work was when I left it in airplane mode... a true cockpit error.

 

[StealthP3D]

Thanks, nice write-up. I cannot ever go back to old fashioned gas cars. Just too crude, dirty and loud and needy.

The key card is suboptimal because when the car asks for it, you have to dig it out of your wallet (or wallet and purse, if you carry one), tap it against the door, and then tap it again against the center console. It's harder to use in that sense than even a traditional metal key, because it requires the extra step of getting it out of your wallet.

My phone just plain works without thinking about it. But, if I've left my phone inside and need to get in the car I just tap my wallet on the pillar. There is no digging it out of my wallet. And if you want to drive it right away, there is no need to tap the center console either. Tapping the card on the pillar unlocks driving too as long as you touch the brake within 15-20 seconds of unlocking.

For me, the phone works essentially flawlessly. For my wife? It's like 50/50.

Get your wife a phone that works (or configure the one she has so it works 100%). The problem is not with the car as is evidenced by many people who have no issues, it's with the phone. I've been saying this for over a year now but people keep blaming the car when it works perfectly.

 

[StealthP3D]

I'm maybe not being clear about this--the key fobs on our other cars do not fail. They don't have to be held up to anything. They just work.

This is how my phone works. Yours doesn't? I love not having to deal with key fobs and batteries.